FILE PHOTO: Mayor Zohran Mamdani delivers his 100 Days Address, a speech dedicated to outline the progress made on his core campaign promises since taking office, in Queens, New York City, U.S., April 12, 2026. REUTERS/David 'Dee' Delgado/File Photo
(New York, NY) – Mayor Zohran Mamdani is boasting a balanced city budget. After initially announcing a deficit of several billion dollars, the Democratic Socialist is taking a victory lap rolling out a $124.7 billion fiscal plan. While the mayor was able to avoid a controversial property tax hike, watchdogs say there are other places that the city is squeezing out extra funding. Ambulance rides, penalties on parking violations, and tree replacement fees are all going up. In a video on social media, Mamdani did not touch on the price increases but rather focused on his goal to avoid service cuts.
When we came into office, we uncovered a $12 billion budget deficit.
Today, I’m proud to say we brought it down to zero.
We didn’t close the gap on the backs of working people.
We closed it while funding parks, libraries, safer streets and making historic investments in public… pic.twitter.com/TbNu6fhvjs
— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) May 12, 2026
Mamdani said they were able to avoid cuts by stretching out pension payouts and rolling out a pied-à-terre tax on luxurious second homes. The next steps in the budgetary process involves the City Council, as they will have to sign off on the plan by July 1st.
